Jamie Spears has been suspended as Britney Spears' conservator
CPA John Zabel was appointed as a temporary conservator of Spears’ estate
Jamie Spears has now been suspended as the conservator of Britney Spears’ estate, as Judge Brenda Perry ruled today in a court hearing. But Spears’ conservatorship isn’t over. To replace Jamie, certified public accountant John Zabel was appointed as a temporary conservator of Spears’ estate. As reported by CNN, Britney Spears did not call into the hearing. The hearing is currently on pause; once the break is over, there will be further discussion over whether there will be another court hearing.
After the FX and Hulu documentary Framing Britney Spears sparked a wider conversation about the mistreatment the pop star’s allegedly faced at the hands of her father, Jamie Spears, Britney Spears herself decided to openly speak up in court confirming the allegations. “I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy,” Spears said in a court hearing on June 21. “If I said that enough, maybe I’d become happy. … I’m in shock. I’m traumatized. … I’m so angry it’s insane.” She added, “It’s not OK to force me to do anything I don’t want to do. … I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don’t feel like I can live a full life.”
After Spears confirmed her father’s conservatorship was used in allegedly abusive ways rather than to protect her, Jamie Spears faced such an immense amount of backlash that he decided to file a petition to end his daughter’s conservatorship.
Before today’s court hearing, the latest one was on July 14, where Spears was allowed to have her own lawyer, Matthew S. Rosengart, instead of a court-appointed one. At that hearing, Spears said she would like to charge her father with conservatorship abuse and launch an investigation into him.
As The New York Times explained, Spears has not officially filed to end her conservatorship. But Jamie Spears’ lawyers did file to end it, claiming to do so out of respect for Spears’ desires for independence. According to the Times, Rosengart said in a filing last week that Spears “fully consents” to terminating the conservatorship, and that this decision is also backed by Jodi Montgomery, who has been the conservator in charge of Spears’ personal life since 2019. However, Rosengart requested a “a temporary, short-term conservator to replace Mr. Spears’s until the conservatorship is completely and inevitably terminated this fall.”